Niagara Pet Photography – The many faces of Jasmine

Niagara Pet Photography – The many faces of Jasmine

One of the best things about living in Niagara’s Wine Country is the abundance of 4-legged beauties that hang out at the local wineries. These images are part of a series of Niagara Wine Dogs that I’m working on, starting with the dogs of Twenty Valley wineries. I want to capture as many of my canine buddies as possible hanging at their favourite wineries. Jasmine comes from a double whammy wine family that is actually a triple-threat! Dad, Philip Dowell, is the winemaker for Angels Gate Winery and Kew Vineyards Estate Winery, and mom, Meg McGrath, runs the show at Hidden Bench Winery.

I dearly love this girlie, she is so full of love and spirit. Jasmine, Jazzy, Jazmerelda, call her by any of her nicknames, as long as you’ve got a treat, she’ll appear like magic! In fact, she has a touch of Disney about her. To me, the shot with the bee captures this perfectly. I love it when the element of surprise sneaks into a frame, it’s like an extra gift. The bee appearing and interacting with Jasmine isn’t necessarily immediately obvious but when you see it… what a fun find!

Jazz was recovering from a yeast infection on her throat, hence the lack of throat hair in most images, I retouched that on a couple of images and will do the balance when her family have made their picks. Thanks especially to Meg and Phil’s daughter Sophia for helping me with Jasmine’s shoot. It’s always a bonus to have an extra pair of helping hands!

Here are a handful of my favourite shots from Jasmine’s Wine Dog session. Enjoy!

 

Jasmine the chocolate lab in the vines

Jasmine watching over the winery from the cottage

Jasmine letting it all hang out!

Jasmine at Angels Gate Winery

Jasmine in front of Angels Gate Winery

Jasmine the bee whisperer

Jasmine the greeter at Angels Gate Winery

Jasmine at Angels Gate Winery

Sweet as pie, Jasmine the Chocolate lab

Niagara Pet Photography: Lola + Louie

Niagara Pet Photography: Lola + Louie

Recently I was lucky enough to enjoy a play date with Lola and Louie. Lola is a spunky little mini dachshund with a charming overbite, a gleaming black coat and oodles of attitude. Louie… well your guess is as good as mine, I’m reckoning he’s part dachshund with some Catahoula leopard dog mixed in, so hard to tell. Whatever the DNA says, his resulting coat is simply stunning.

Louie – a rescue from Louisiana – was terrifically shy but he warmed up with a healthy dose of good treats and toys. Lola had no problem getting into the session, which she basically ran. Not surprising, this frisky diva dachsie runs the show at her house! We had a fabulous afternoon together indoors; running, playing and showing off for the camera. For me the best of all was the series of images I would have to title “Keep your eye on the ball (or the monkey)” – check out the slideshow at the bottom of this post.

Our session was booked to capture stunning images of Lola, who is the apple of her daddy’s eye, for Christmas. (Louie, being mom’s baby, had his fair share of camera time too.) My client Louise knew she wanted large wall art for her husband’s newly renovated office at Henry of Pelham Family Estate winery in Niagara, something that would greet him every day and make him smile. The first image below was printed as a 24″ x 36” gallery wrapped canvas piece. I ran into them over the weekend at the Winter WineFest in Jordan Village and by all accounts it was a huge success! Daniel was thrilled and while his office is still under construction, Lola is happily jogging on prime wall space in their home! Now that Christmas is behind us, we’ll be getting together over a glass of Henry of Pelham wine (Cuvée Catherine, perhaps!) to review the other images and choose more gorgeous artwork for their home.

Oh, and for the record…what I wouldn’t give for a studio with this light!


Photographer Karen Black is behind the lens at Indigo Pet Photography. I’m based in Niagara’s Wine Country in Ontario and specialize in natural light pet portraiture but will happily hit the road to capture your pet’s personality for posterity.

Web: indigopetphotography.com
Facebook: /indigopetphotography
Instagram: indigopetproject
Twitter: @indigopetphoto

 

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